Update on EIFF

The Eden Independent Film Festival (EIFF), made possible by the Cape Film Commission (CFC), and sponsored by the NLDTF and George Municipality, will run in George for three days from 30 October to 1 November in George and is the second to be hosted by the CFC in conjunction with the George Municipality.

The festival will include workshops, screenings and will feature a day of discussions around the development of local and international TV programmes, animation and sound in film. Young filmmakers are invited to enter the 48Hr Film Project competition.

A special focus on short films will see the screening of the highlights from the 2015 Schnit Short Film Festival featuring South African and international filmmakers. Schnit was screened in May last year in George at the George Arts Theatre and this was followed by a panel discussion.

Agreement to Develop Local Film Industry Throughout Garden Route

It is the stated aim by George Municipality and its neighbouring municipalities to develop the region as a film making area. Over the past two years, the Eden District has seen an increase in filming activities in the area with scenes in Born to Win, Knysna, Faan se Trein, Pad Na jou Hart and Klein Karoo shot in the area.

At a film workshop hosted by the Knysna Municipality on Friday 21 August, it was announced that an agreement is to be signed between George and the CFC, whereby the parties undertake to support and develop the local film industry throughout the Garden Route CFC. George Mayor Charles Standers is thrilled with the development of this festival. “The by-line for the Eden Independent Film Festival is ‘projecting new images’ and the City Council of George would like to see it become a world class gathering.”

48Hr Film Project

Running parallel with and forming an integral part of the festival will be the 48Hr Film Project. This is an international competition where filmmakers compete to see who can make the best short film (5 to 7min long) within a 48-hour period – starting from the competition briefing and ending with a finished short film submission.

The winning short film will go up against the best short films selected from around the world at Filmapalooza 2016, as well as an opportunity to screen at the Cannes Film Festival 2016, Court Métrage.

Entry to the competition is R1 200 with an early-bird entry fee of R1 000 and is open to everybody. Cape Film Commission CEO Denis Lillie said this week, “We would encourage aspirant and seasoned filmmakers to enter. By doing so, your short film will form a part of the Cape Town entrants, but with George being the local head office for briefing and submission of entries.

“Entrants will draw different genres from a hat and need to include the following a number of criteria in their short film submission as well as the following specific requirements as determined by the organisers: a prop item; a statement or line of dialogue; and two required characters (names provided).”

Once the film has been produced, there will be a screening in George of all the films produced by local filmmakers. These will be judged locally, with the winning film travelling to Cape Town as a part of the judging to take place there. The overall South African winner will have their short film screened at the international festival in Los Angeles as well as at Cannes in 2016.